As far as having friendships in cyberspace, I generally don't keep them unless they are family members and friends who I used to hang out with but now live too far away to see them frequently. Since talking online is free and can be accessed anywhere, especially with my Iphone, I find it easier to keep friendships remotely. I generally use Google Chat or Skype to stay in contact with family and friends. As convenient as it is with the online chat, I don't think it's comparable to face-to-face communication. I like to see the reactions of the people I am talking to rather than seeing emoticons. Also, people may not be able to convey their feelings or emotions appropriately online because words or messages may be interpreted differently. Another thing is that people can easily fall into the “fake” category when chatting online because there is no one to stop them from not being genuine, whether it is someone you know or a complete stranger. I had one experience where I befriended a person online and later learned he was not a genuine person. Luckily, I didn't let the person damage me, but the experience did leave me to be more aware of cyber communication and favor more face-to-face relationships.
I had no idea until I read your post that those funny little faces and stuff people use in emails and text messages had a name. I learned something new today, EMOTICONS. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that many people online are "fake", like the Brad Paisley song says people can say anything about themselves online and who is to say that it is true or not? The short, fat Momma's boy who lives in his Mothers basement, could say he is 6'3", drives a Mercedes and makes 200,000 a year. Who is to say he is not what he says he is? This is why online dating scares the hell out of me.
Definitely need to be careful giving away to many personal details on the internet, however you might be surprised how many people prefer it as a way to meet a future partner. In today's world it seems we have a lot less quality places for people to meet. With websites out there that filter through a lot of things out, it helps give you a good chance of meeting someone with more ideas in common. The other thought is after spending chatting online, take the conversation to the phone, and gradually work it into a face to face at a public venue.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, it’s okay to have friends via cyber, but you have to be aware of that. People can easily get away with things on the internet; they can say one thing and mean something completely different. Another thing they can do is lie about who they are, what they do, etc. If you don’t know the person, you’re better off not befriending them. Internet is a great communication chamber when you have friends and family that have moved away or gone overseas. My fiancé just moved to Italy and our communication has now resulted to the cyber world.
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